My first AK-Zastava PAP (Pics inside)
 

Looking at getting into the AK platform. There is a WASR at my LGS. I've heard mixed reviews on these. They aren't as well refined as polytechs and other top end models. I believe the price was $550. Just want to some tips on what I should be looking for. Excuse my ignorance as this will be my first AK and have only done limited research. Thanks guys.

I picked up a WASR about six months ago. So far I love it. It's not pretty and the sights are a little out of whack but I did my homework and knew what I was getting before I brought it home. So it depends on what your looking to do with it. If you want a tack driver the WASR is probably not the AK for you. If you want a gun that goes bang when you pull the trigger and is reasonably accurate at a reasonable price it's not a terrible gun. And my definition of reasonably accurate is A to C zone hits on a standard USPSA target at 50 yards. If I want to put all the hits in the a zone at 100 yds I get out my AR.

My WASR goes bang everytime. I would not trade it or sell it. Its all about functionality.

Well thanks for the opinions. I don't want a piece of junk but I don't need a top of the line AK. I want something that I can shoot and not worry about. I do however want the firearm to be somewhat accurate. Bottom line, don't want to spend $550 on junk that I will have problems with.

Frightening that wasrs are up to those numbers but I knows that's what it is.

Wasrs aren't pretty IMO but they get the job done ( be it either range fun or a defense rifle )

Confused. Understand they aren't pretty. They aren't fun but they are fun on the range?? Dunno.

Sorry... Fixed it.. :embarassed:

Its cool man. No worries.

For $550 I think an AMD65 on an FEG receiver would be a better buy, you can get them for more like $450 and they are high quality.
WASRs are decent rifles and run good, you just have to check it out to make sure it doesn't have canted fsb or gb and that there isn't excessive mag wobble.

Yea those are the things that im going to look for. From my limited research i know about the front sight and mag wobble but i don't know about gb???
Unsure what you mean by gb.

HWI is referring to the gas block. They have a tendency to be canted just like the front site.

Understood. I'm assuming operate the slide and check to see how smooth it operates. Excuse my ignorance.

Generally it's more of an issue of appearance. The gas block would have to be canted pretty severely to hinder the movement of the gas piston. Though operating the action doesn't hurt any.

The time when a canted gas block can be an issue is if you are mounting a handguard where the upper and lower clamp together, or when using an Ultimak.

Gotcha. Thanks for your input.

my part of the state (bout 45 mins from you), we have a lot in local stores. not sure about your end.

couple new ones in the 550 range at my local. (3 exits on the tpk)

Well, I went ahead and went with a CIA Zastava model# RI1987N. They seem to be a bit better quality than the wasr. Better fit and finish and no mag wobble. If anyone has one I would love to know what they think of it. I'm picking it up next week.

Congrats on your first Ak! I hope you get great service from it and the Yugo has a solid reputation in the Ak community. I have three Ak's (Sgl20, Sgl21, and a Hungarian Sa85m) and I wish I had at least three more.

Glad to hear that. I went in looking for the wasr but my LGS was cleaned out. The sales rep said they were flying out the door..for obvious reasons. I decided to look at the Yugo and i'm glad I did because the quality/fit and finish trumps the wasr hands down. Got lucky too, it was the last Yugo in stock. Can't wait to shoot it.

The WASRs are not a bad choice; closest to the 70's vintage Soviet AKMs we can get. They have chrome hammer-forged barrels and are factory made guns with enough US parts to pass muster.

But the Zastava PAPs are also primo factory made AKMs with 922 parts. It's just that they have no chrome barrels, so be meticulous with your cleanings if you are using any kind of corrosive ammo.

No corrosive ammo for me.

Like I said before im new to AKs. What are the 922 parts you speak of and what does PAP stand for?

922 parts refer to Title 18, Chapter 44, section 922(r) of the United States Code, defined further by Title 27 Part 478.39 of the Code of Federal Regulation, which mandates that imported semi-automatic rifles and shotguns have to have 10 of 20 specific parts US-made to be sold in a non-"sporter" configuration. Hence why Saigas come with a monte-carlo style stock and single-stack magazines, and then have to be "converted" back into a regular AK design.

There is nothing wrong with the WASR's as long as you take 10 seconds to look them over.

Thats what I was originally looking at but they had none left. So I went with the CIA Zastava. I think the quality, fit and finish was worth the extra $150.

Fortunately for the unsuspecting, ex-Yugo military 7.62x39 is likely the last of the corrosive to be routinely found for sale. Although I have read that you should never fully trust ANY EU, ex-WARPACT ammo just to be on the safe side.

I don't go anal after a shoot of Wolf or Tula in the AKs, but I don't completely ignore them like I would after a day at the range with a .22LR.

As for PAP - from everything I've read on the 'net - which of course means nothing -- is that "P.A.P." is our abbreviation for some Yugo/Serb phrase meaning "semi-auto rifle".

We use it as if it is a model-name as that is what EAA was calling them when they started importing the low-cap thumbhole versions.

Whatever they call it, the ones I handled at a gunshow were sweet AKs - a time machine back to the 80's. Love to have one but just have no need.

Well, I went ahead and got the Yugo PAP. The rifle feels and looks quality. Now i just need to shoot it.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...co/photo11.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...co/photo22.jpg

The bolt is what i'm worried about. Hopefully it shoots fine, but if not it's off to get a original Yugo bolt, not the single stack version. I also ordered a new dust cover from RGuns.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...o/photo3-1.jpg